Not generalisable- no urban culture, more of a case study so unique situation

Social factors (community) not taken into account.

3 of 14

Loftus and Palmer (1974) (Lab experiment)

Aims:

To see if leading questions are likely to affect someone's response

to see if the phrasing of a question affects estimates of speed

Method/Procedure:

45 student participants put into groups and each shown films, each involving a car accident

some participants asked: 'How fast were the cars going when they hit each other'

others: verb replaced with: bumped, collided, smashed, contacted.

Results:

Smashed gave the highest estimate of speed and contacted was the lowest

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4 of 14

Loftus and Palmer (1974) (Lab experiment)

Conclusions:

Wording of questions does have an effect on eyewitness memory.

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Verbal labels, such as ‘hit’ and ‘smashed’ had a major effect on eyewitness memory, and it was suggested that schemas came into force, modifying the memory to better fit the verbal labels supplied after the incidents.